A Touch of Moonlight
by talisianknight
Summary: Remus Lupin is keeping a secret from his best friend. How long can he keep it before it ends up hurting their blossoming relationship and change their lives forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"Remy!"

Seventeen-year-old Remus Lupin turned around in circles on the platform, trying to find the source of the female voice he knew so well. When he finally spotted the head of onyx hair, he only had moments to drop his bags to the ground before the petite body of his best friend collided with his in a long overdue hug. Wrapping his arms around the petite girl's waist, he lifted her into the air and spun her around in a circle, not caring about the scene they were making.

"My dearest, Leabelle!" Remus said with joy, using the nickname he had given her their first year of schooling at Hogwarts. The girl tried to wriggle free of his arms and Remus chuckled at her futile attempts to break free.

"Remus John Lupin, you put me down this instant!" she demanded, but her giggles ruined any attempt at being serious.

"Or what? What could you possibly do to me... Eleanor?"

At the use of her given name, Remus felt a sharp kick to his groin causing him to release the girl into an unceremonious heap on top of their bags. Atop the pile of their belongings, the girl shot a glare at Remus who had double over in pain. She opened her mouth to berate him, but before she could get any words out, she was cut off by the arrival of another person.

"Oi! Moony! Why'd you throw my darling cousin, Lea, on the ground?" came the voice of James Potter and he dropped his trunk next to Lea who was still on the floor.

"She kicked me!" Remus exclaimed, gesturing to his groin.

James let out a roar of a laugh, "Mate, did you pick her up again, or did you call her Eleanor?" When James saw the face Remus made in affirmation, he only laughed harder.

Lea was still on top of the luggage pile as she watched the exchange happening between the two. "Ahem..." she cleared her throat, "Do you think you could help a girl up, James?" she asked as she held her hand out, waiting for assistance.

"Sure, point one out for me!" he said as he began searching the platform and her face grew red with anger. "Relax, Lea, it was only a joke!" he said as he reached out to take her hand. Before he knew it, James found himself collapsed on the pile next to Lea who had taken advantage of his unsuspecting demeanor.

"Where's Sirius?" Remus asked James as he helped Lea to her feet. She narrowed her sapphire eyes at him which only caused him to smile, his warm green eyes melting away her anger. With a sigh, Lea returned a small smile, her dimples appearing amidst her freckled cheeks.

"He went to go find his brother. Although he didn't say why..." James responded as he grabbed his trunk.

Remus and Lea grabbed their things from the ground and began making their way to the crimson train alongside James. Before they reached the train, however, Lea stopped in her tracks. Noticing her sudden disappearance from his side, Remus nudged James as he turned around to look at Lea.

"What's the matter?" Remus asked her.

"It's just weird thinking that we are about to board the train for our last year of school." she responded as she gazed at Hogwarts Express.

"Now now... no need to get all sentimental on me." Remus said as he wrapped one arm around Lea's shoulders and guided her toward the train.

Once they placed their trunks on the luggage racks, the trio began making their way down the train, looking for either an empty compartment or one with familiar faces. They had made it halfway down the train before a familiar head of shaggy black hair emerged from one of the compartments. Sirius's face lit up as he saw his friends approaching.

"I was wondering where you lot were! Come on, I've got us a compartment!" he said as the trio approached the compartment.

As they entered into the compartment, James sat next to his best friend, after throwing his smaller bag up on the shelf above their heads, and proceeded to talk Quidditch strategies. Lea reached up to place her bag alongside James's but was struggling because she was nowhere near as tall as her cousin. She felt a hand at the small of her back as Remus took her bag in one hand and placed it easily upon the shelf. Lea shuddered at the feeling of his closeness; she had never had a reaction to his touch like that before, what could have changed over the summer?

"Thanks, Remy." Lea said with a soft smile as she sat on the seat across from James and Sirius and folded her legs beneath her.

"Anytime, Leabelle." he returned her smile, taking the seat next to her and, after stretching his legs out in front of him, joined in on the other boy's conversation.

Lea sat in silence, mulling over her earlier reaction to Remus's touch. In her seven years of knowing him, she had never felt a reaction whenever he had placed a hand on her like that. Her train of thought skipped back to when they had first met on the train when they were eleven. She remembered how frightened Remus was when she and James approached his compartment and asked if they could join him.

James was very loud and boisterous as a kid and Lea couldn't help but to feel bad for the eleven-year-old Remus, who was pale and bore many scars. He seemed so sickly then and had often ended up in the hospital wing once a month. Many times she had wanted to ask him what was wrong, but, unlike her ever curious cousin, she kept her questions to herself. After her second year of school, she knew the boys, along with their friend Peter who was absent from the compartment, shared a secret that seemed to draw them together, and Lea was jealous. She had frequently asked James and Remus to be let in on the secret, but every time they told her that it was strictly between the guys.

Remus had seen how sad she looked when none of them would share their secret with her, so one night, at the beginning of their third year, he offered to create his own personal secret with Lea. They had created a secret pact that whenever one got married, the other would have to wear a bright yellow outfit; the more ridiculous, the better. Thinking back, Lea realized how childish it sounded, but she like the fact that it was something special she could share with Remus.

Lea felt a sharp jabbing at her side and snapped out of her reverie. Remus was poking Lea in the side with his wand. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"We have been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes, Lea. Where were you in the pretty little head of yours?" Remus questioned her as he pocketed his wand once again.

"Shove it, Remy." she said and Remus held his hands up in surrender.

"We were asking for your input on how James should approach Lily this year. After all, he is Head Boy this year, so he has a certain advantage, right?" Sirius stated.

"Oh, James. Still? Can't you see the poor girl is not interested?" Lea asked with a roll of her eyes. She felt bad for the Evans girl who kept having to put up with her cousin's advances since third year.

"Lea... _Pleaseeeeee..._ " James pleaded with her, clasping his hands in front of his face before kneeling on the ground in front of her.

"Oh, get up you great oaf!" Lea said in annoyance as she pushed her cousin back into his seat. With a sigh she added, "I suppose actually being Head Boy is a step in the right direction. I would advise that you actually take your duties seriously though... don't pass your duties off onto others."

"Yes, Sir!" James responded with a salute.

Lea rolled her eyes at her cousin's antics before continuing, "I would also consider toning down the pranks..." At this, James and Sirius both made exaggerated gasps.

Placing his right hand on his chest over his heart, James pretended to be steadying his heart before responding. "As much as it pains me to do so, I accept that I must" he paused to take a deep breath, "limit my extracurricular pranktivities... on account of love." He concluded in what sounded like a pained voice.

"No, James! Don't do it! It's a trap! Before you know it you will be holding purses and..."

"Oh, cut the dramatics you two, it's not the end of the world if..." Lea cut Sirius off but before she could finish her own thought, the door to the compartment slid open.

"I hope I'm not intruding..." spoke the polite voice of Lily Evans.

"Not at all!" James exclaimed almost too enthusiastically and Lea quirked her eyebrow and her cousin's behavior.

Lily gave James an unreadable glance before continuing. "Alright summer, boys? Eleanor?"

Lea cringed at the use of her full name, but nodded anyway. The boys did the same, oddly quiet for the lot of them. An awkward silence settled over the compartment before Lily finally spoke up again.

"Anyway, James, I was wondering if I might speak with you in private about our duties as Head Boy and Girl?"

"Er... yeah." He responded ruffling the hair on the back of his head. He glanced at Lea, silently begging her to give him an idea of what to do next. Lea widened her eyes and gestured for him to follow Lily with her head. He stood up and followed Lily out of the compartment, sliding the door shut behind him.

After James had left, Remus and Sirius began to chat idly about their summers as Lea laid down, placing her head on Remus's lap and stretched across the seat. Remus began to absentmindedly stroke Lea's pin straight hair and she started to drift off to sleep. She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but she had awoken to the sound of the compartment door being thrown open.

"Quick, Potter is about to take on Snape and Avery on his own!" the random student shouted, pointing somewhere down the train.

Within an instant, Lea was on her feet and running out of the compartment, the other two hot on her heels. As they neared the scene, they had to push students out of their way in the narrow train corridor. When they had finally reached the clearing, she saw her cousin with his wand pointed at the two offending Slytherins. Sirius and Remus also pulled out their wands and aimed at the other two boys. Lily was cowering behind James, his arm held out in a protective manner behind him.

"Well, will you look at who has decided to join the party, Avery." sneered Snape as Lea placed herself between the two groupings of boys. "If it isn't the _Marauders_ , and their little... plaything."

Lea narrowed her eyes before addressing the Gryffindor boys behind her. "Lower your wands." she instructed.

"Not with theirs raised at us!" James exclaimed. "They were harassing Lily! They deserve what is coming to them!"

"James, you are Head Boy... Act like it!" Lea responded as she tried to push James's wand down. Reluctantly, James lowered his wand with a sigh, and the others followed suit.

"Lets go." Lea guided boys, pushing them backwards back to their compartment.

"That's it! Run away!" Avery hollered after them. "Gryffindor cowards..." he continued as he raised his wand and pointed it at Lea's back.

"Lea! Look out!" Remus shouted as he pushed his way around her just as Avery's spell struck him in the leg. There was a sickening crunch as Remus collapsed to the ground, grasping at his leg in pain. Without hesitation, Lea whipped out her wand and turned it on Avery.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ she said disarming Avery as she walked toward him and jammed her wand into his neck. "I would suggest you leave now before I hurt you." she threatened; her nostrils flaring with anger. When she removed her wand from his neck, Avery let out a huff before heading off in the opposite direction. Snape, who had been standing in the background watching the entire scene play out, followed after him.

When Lea heard Remus let out another groan, she turned back around to see the other two boys and Lily huddled around him. She fell to her knees next to Remus and began examining him for other injuries.

"His leg is broken..." Lily stated pointing out the obvious. "I'm afraid I don't have anything to mend it."

Lea ignored Lily as she pointed her wand at Remus's leg. " _Ferula."_ she cast as Remus's leg was splinted and bound.

"Thanks. I need to remember that one." Remus said as the other two boys helped him stand on his one good leg.

Lea remained silent as the boys led the way back to their compartment, Lily followed close behind them. When they finally reached it, the boys set Remus down on the bench, helping him to lift his leg up to rest upon it. Lily informed the group that she was going to go ask the conductor how much longer they had until they arrived at the station. James offered to accompany her, leaving Sirius alone with Lea and Remus.

"You okay, Moony?" Sirius asked Remus as he plopped on the bench next to him.

Lea took a seat across from the boys, still not having said a word since threatening Avery. She had never been one to threaten harm on another, but something came over her and she snapped. Looking out the window, Lea lost herself in her thoughts until she felt someone grab her hand. Shaking her head to bring her back to the present, Lea looked into the concerned eyes of Remus.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked with a small smile.

Lea returned the small smile before responding, "I just can't get over the fact that this is our final year at Hogwarts. What's going to happen once it's all over?" she lied. Both Sirius and Remus shared a look with each other. They both knew that Lea was lying, but neither wanted to push her into talking about something if she wasn't ready to yet.

"I guess we will have to wait and see, won't we?" Remus said with a slight squeeze of her hand before releasing it.

James and Lily returned to the compartment informing the other three that they were not far from the castle. The short rest of the ride to Hogwarts was spent discussing classes, events, and Quidditch; Lea had even piped in every once and awhile. Everyone had noticed the change in her mood, but no one dared to ask, and Lea was relieved. This was bound to be an interesting final year at Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Hey Moony, have you seen Lily?" Sirius asked at he sat down at the Gryffindor table in the great hall one Friday morning at breakfast.

"That depends. Are you planning on copying her Charms essay?" Remus asked without looking up from the copy of the Daily Prophet he was reading.

"Me? Copy? Of course not!" Sirius responded as he piled eggs on his plate.

"Me? See Lily? Of course not..." Remus mimicked Sirius, still reading his paper, even after Sirius threw a muffin at his head.

"Padfoot! How could you waste a good muffin?" Peter asked incredulously as he sat down next to Sirius, picking up the muffin that had been thrown. Both Remus and Sirius rolled their eyes; Peter was always thinking with his stomach.

None of the boys had bothered asking where Peter was on the train a couple weeks ago. When he turned up at the welcome feast, they just figured he had spent the train ride with a group of Hufflepuffs. Secretly, the other Marauders were glad he wasn't present because it saved them from having to deal with the awkward situations he caused.

"So, Moony, is this going to be the year you tell Lea?" Sirius asked as he took a bite of his breakfast.

"I don't know what you mean." Remus responded, folding up the paper and setting it aside. Peter instantly picked it up and began scanning it.

"Yes you do." Sirius replied, taking another bite of his food. He was right, Remus knew exactly what Sirius was referring to.

Every year, the Marauders contemplated letting Lea in on their biggest secret, Remus's lycanthropy, but each year, Remus came up with a new excuse for them not to. They all knew that it was only a matter of time until she found out, but Remus was afraid that she would reject him as a friend.

"Sirius, I just can't tell Lea..." Remus responded defensively.

"You can't tell me what?" Lea asked as she plopped herself down at the table next to Remus and began to shovel breakfast onto her plate.

"Nothing..." Remus said dismissively as he picked at the food on his own plate.

"Oh, honestly, Remus... if this is about your _furry little problem_ again, I REALLY don't care, it's not like you're the first person I have come across with it." She responded nonchalantly as she began to spread jam on her toast.

"Really?" Sirius asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"Yeah..." Lea responded as she bit into her toast. "It's no big deal, Remy... no girl is going to judge you if you have to manscape." she continued in all seriousness.

Remus, who had just taken a sip of his pumpkin juice, proceeded to spit his drink into the face of Peter who had the unfortunate circumstance of sitting across from him. Sirius guffawed at the situation that was unfolding in front of him, drawing the attention of those that sat near the group.

"Nice form, Moony, but you missed a spot, just there above his left eye." James piped up as he took a seat on the other side of Remus, as he clapped a hand on his back.

"Where did you guys come up with these ridiculous nicknames? I mean, aren't they a bit... I dunno... fifth year?" Lea asked as she took another bite of her breakfast.

"That, my dearest cousin, is on a need to know basis and it's a boys-only secret, so unless you add to your current...er... anatomy, you don't get to know." James replied as he used the tip of his right pointer finger to tap on the tip of Lea's nose, the same finger that happened to have jam on it from using it to wipe off the jam spoon. Lea glared at James as she used her napkin to clean the sticky jam residue off of her nose.

For the rest of breakfast, the boys bickered back and forth while Lea finished her meal in silence.

Before she knew it, it was time for her and the boys to head off toward History of Magic. When they had reached the classroom, they had parted to their usual seats. James and Sirius sat in the back of class while Remus and Peter sat at a table just in front of them. Lea took her seat next to Lily Evans at the front of the classroom.

"Hello, Eleanor." Lily said cheerfully as Lea dropped her heavy book bag on the ground.

"Hey, Lily. And, please, it's Lea. No one uses my formal name except for my mother." Lea returned as she pulled out the things she would need for class.

A piece of parchment charmed to look like a bird landed on the table between Lea and Lily. Lea picked up the parchment and tucked it into the pocket of her uniform before starting to take notes over the lesson that had just begun. As Binns droned on, Lea felt something hit the back of her head repeatedly. Turning around to look at the offending ball of parchment, Lea's eyes met with the Marauders in the back of the room. James was silently pleading with Lea to open the note from earlier. Rolling her eyes, Lea pulled the parchment out of her pocket and unfolded the note.

 _Lea, will you PLEASE put in a good word for me?_ James's handwriting had read.

 _ **No, James, if you are serious about this, you will have to get her attention the right way.**_ Lea wrote back before sending the parchment back toward her cousin.

"I, honestly, don't know how you can put up with those boys." Lily whispered as Lea returned to taking her notes.

"I grew up with James and Sirius, so nothing they do phases me. Plus, they aren't bad guys, they just like to put on a show." Despite what she told James, Lea found herself putting the boys in a positive light.

As if on cue, the note had returned to its place in front of Lea.

 _At least find out her favorite flower? I bet it's a lily..._

 _ **It is not a lily, you oaf. She especially hates lilies because of the fact that she is named after one. Her favorite flower is a sunflower. You're welcome. Now leave me alone.**_

Lea sent the note back to James and was left alone for the rest of the class. When the class was dismissed, Lea walked with Lily toward the library.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite ladies." James greeted as he inserted himself in between the two girls and draped his arms over their shoulders.

"Ugh." Lea returned as she slipped out from underneath James arm and fell back to walk next to Remus.

When Lily did not do the same, Lea made a note to ask Lily about it later.

"How are you this morning, Leabelle?" Remus asked as he scooped her bag off of her shoulder and placed it on his own.

"Can't complain. How are you, Remy?"

"Can't complain." Remus repeated with a wink, making Lea laugh.

Later that evening, a majority of the group found themselves sprawled across the couches and floor in front of the Gryffindor tower fireplace. James had followed Lily off to the library with the excuse of needing her library expertise to find a book. Remus and Sirius sat on an overstuffed couch while Lea sat at Remus's feet with her head against his knees. Peter was seated on the floor as well and seemed to be spacing off and staring into the fire.

"I can't believe how boring this evening is. I'm best friends with the Mauraders and I'm not even having fun. Does anyone see the problem with this?" Lea whined, gazing into the fire.

"It's not the same when James isn't here." Sirius pouted, obviously missing his other half.

"Aww, is poor Sirius missing his Jamesie-poo?" Lea teased Sirius without looking at him.

"Shut up, Bennett." Sirius shot back defensively.

The room feel into and awkward silence again before it was once again broken by Lea.

"Oi, Sirius, do you have any Ogden's Old?" Lea chirped up, craning her head to look up at Sirius.

At the mention of firewhiskey, Sirius seemed to have a new sense of life flood through him. "Sure do. Fresh bottle of it too." he replied with a devious smile on his face.

"What do you say we liven up the night?" Lea asked with a smirk.

With a holler of joy, Sirius flew from the couch and up the stairs to retrieve the drink. Lea stood up from the floor and replaced him on the couch before snuggling close to Remus.

"You know, as a prefect, I can't endorse this kind of behavior." Remus murmured to her.

"Oh come on, Remy..." Lea began to plead as Sirius returned with the bottle.

"Relax, Lea, I was going to say that as a prefect I cannot, but since I'm not on duty, to hell with the rules."

"That's the spirit, Moony!" Sirius said with a cheer as he opened the bottle and took a swig before brandishing it in Remus's face. Remus took it from Sirius's hand and proceeded to take his own swig before passing it to Lea.

Before Lea could bring the bottle up to her mouth, Lily burst through the portrait with James close behind her. Upon seeing Lea, she strode directly toward her and yanked the bottle from her hands.

"What the..." Sirius began but stopped immediately when Lily took a long draw from the bottle before passing it back to Lea and throwing herself down into an armchair. Nobody moved and just sat there looking at Lily in stunned silence.

"What?" Lily asked, noticing everyone's gaze was on her.

"James, what did you do?" Lea asked immediately.

"Oi! Why d'you have to blame me?" he responded defensively, his hands held up in a matching gesture.

Lea just quirked her eyebrow at James before turning her attention back to Lily.

"Can't a Head Girl enjoy her Friday night every once in a while?" she asked.

"They sure as hell can!" Sirius said, excited at the fact that he got to witness Lily drink.

"Lils… what happened? What did my ogre of a cousin do this time?" Lea asked as she pulled the fiery red head aside.

"Oh, James didn't do anything. We were studying in the library… at least I was… when this group of Slytherins came in and starting jinxing my essay I was working on to say stuff like 'I'm a filthy mudblood' and things like that. Eventually, they just cast a spell on my inkwell causing it to shatter and completely cover my essay and ruin it." Lily explained.

"Didn't James do anything? I mean… usually he is all for rescuing the damsel in distress."

"That's the thing, for the first time ever, he actually just walked away from a fight. He helped me gather my things and we came straight back here."

"You're kidding…" Lea responded disbelievingly.

"I'm not. It was actually kind of admirable…" Lily trailed off as she gazed over at the group where James was laughing with the other boys.

Lea didn't fail to recognize the look of longing on her friends face.

"Well, come on then. We have a bottle of whiskey to finish." Lea said as she broke Lily out of her gaze and led her back over to the group.

The gang had just finished off the bottle when someone made the decision that the group should play a rousing game of spin the bottle. Sirius had managed to produce a second bottle of Firewhiskey as the rest of the group settled in a circle on the floor around the empty bottle.

"Lily, would you like to do the honors of going first?" Sirius asked.

"Wait! What are the rules!?" Lea asked loudly.

"Simple, you either kiss who the bottle points at, or you take a drink." Sirius explained as if it were a stupid question.

Lily spun the bottle and it landed on Sirius. Immediately, she took a drink from the full bottle.

"Hey, I'm insulted." Sirius said but Lily just rolled her eyes.

Sirius spun the bottle and it landed on Peter to which he promptly took a drink from the bottle as well.

Peter spun the bottle and it landed on Lily. Surprising everyone, Lily quickly leaned forward and placed a small peck on Peter's lips.

"Now I'm really insulted..." Sirius muttered under his breath which caused Remus to laugh.

Lily spun and it landed on Lea, both girls smirked at each other before they leaned in. When their lips were about an inch apart before Lily grabbed the bottle and took a sip before passing it to Lea. The girls burst out in laughter when they saw the looks on the guys' faces.

The game went on for a while longer with more drinks being taken than kisses shared. By this time, everyone was pretty intoxicated. It was Lea's turn so she spun the bottle. When it landed on Sirius, she leaned forward and placed a small kiss upon his lips. However, the alcohol had a strong hold on her and that small kiss began to grow into a more heated one. Remus was becoming more and more uncomfortable as she continued to kiss Sirius.

"I have an idea." Remus finally causing the two to tear apart. "Why don't we play a new game?" he suggested.

"Nah, mate. I'm liking this one." Sirius said coolly as he moved to return to Lea's lips.

"I promise you will like my idea. It involves causing trouble." Remus played.

"I'm listening." Sirius responded, suddenly interested. Remus tried to hide his relief as he made to explain the game to Sirius.

"Basically, we go out into the castle and try and get as close to the prefects on duty without getting caught. Bonus points to whoever can set the most pranks on them without them noticing." Remus suggested.

"And with that," Lily began as she stood up from the floor on unsteady legs "I will part ways with you all. James I suggest, as Head Boy, you do the same." she continued pointedly.

Sirius groaned, "She's still bossy when she's drunk..."

"So are we doing this or not?" Lea piped up.

"Let's go." James said and the group stood up to make their way into the castle. With a reluctant sigh, Lily followed behind them.

The game in the castle went on for a while. Sirius was in the lead with having crashed fourteen suits of armor around one of the new fifth year prefects. It was Lea's turn and her method so far had only been to follow the prefects as closely as she could. This round, she was following one of the seventh year Ravenclaw prefects, Sean Morgan.

While the rest of the group hid at the end of the corridor, Lea tiptoed behind Sean as quietly as she possibly could. However, seeing as she was still feeling the effects of the alcohol, it was not as quiet as she thought it was. Sean had reached the end of the hallway and Lea was only a few paces behind him when she tripped over something and tumbled into the nearest award case, causing a huge crash. Within moments, Lea felt herself pulled into an alcove as something was thrown over her.

"You know… you are really lucky I have this." James whispered. Lea only held a finger over his lips to hush him as Sean came by the alcove.

"Who is there?" he called in what he probably thought was an authoritative voice.

As he passed the alcove, Lea whipped the invisibility cloak off of her.

"What are you doing? He is going to see you!" James whispered.

"I'm winning this prank game." she responded as she stepped into the corridor.

"Oi, Morgan." Lea called down the corridor after Sean before he could reach the corner where everyone else was hiding.

The Ravenclaw turned around and approached Lea with his eyes narrow. "Bennett, what are you doing out after curfew?" he asked.

"Looking for you." Lea replied as she placed a hand on his left shoulder before running it down his arm and grabbing his left hand. He said nothing as he watched her hand.

"Are you drunk?" he asked her as he sniffed and made a disgusted face.

"I needed a bit of liquid courage. I'm not drunk." she stated as sober as she possibly could.

"Liquid courage for what?" Sean asked as he shook her grip off of his hand.

"To ask you out, of course."

"Let me get this straight. Lea Bennett, who usually wants nothing to do with me, wants to ask me out?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Well... yeah."

Sean burst out laughing and Lea was shocked at his reaction. "Er...I'm... I'm sorry." Sean tried to say as he tried to control his laugh "It's just... I find it funny that _you_ are asking _me_ out."

"I don't see what is so funny about it." Lea stated, starting to get frustrated. This was not going as easily as she planned.

"Look, I'm flattered and all but..." Sean said, his laughter finally ceasing as he shook his head.

"But what?" Lea pressed.

"You're pretty and all... but it's just really hard to take you seriously, especially with the company you keep."

"So... you wouldn't go out with me because of my friends?" Lea asked incredulously.

"Well... yeah... it is just hard to believe that you aren't doing this as some sort of joke." He said seriously.

Lea was tired of feeling offended so she did the first thing that came to her drunken mind. "If I were joking, would I do this?" she asked before crashing her lips to his in a passionate kiss.


End file.
